My name is Robert Cowan and I am a native of Edinburgh. Like many others transported to Australia, I am a Protestant. I am well educated and I am able to read and write. I am married and I also have four children. My trade was to lay bricks and slate. The crime that lead to a punishment of 14 years of transportation to Australia was that I forged a letter of escape. I also tried to escape the filthy barracks and I got caught. They extended my punishment by one year.SighYou can't blame me. Those barracks are worse than a rats nest. John Batman1801-1839Pioneer of Melbourne
Religion changed to Anglican-Methodists after being baptized at St Johns in 1810In 1821 he found footing as a grazierIn 1823, he agreed to supply the government with meat storesBy 1824, he had enough money to change from rent to a grant of 600 acres/243 hectaresHe sailed for Van Diemans land[ Present Tasmania ] and received a grant of land which he progressively expandedDuring this time, he "married" convict Elizabeth CallaghanWhether they were ever officially married is at debate.Batman was married and had four children Maria, Lucy, Ellen and AdelaideHis final indignity was being buried in the cemetery named after his arch enemy- John Fawkner Cemetery. If he had know, he would have hated it!They were enemies because in the last four years of John Batman's life, his health and wealth deteriorated dramatically. Meanwhile, John Pascoe Fawkner gained a lot from his death and lived on.
When he died, they sold his land[ worth 5500 pounds ] to the Government
Some depict him as a villain but others as a hero Interesting PointsOne of the few people who attempted to compensate the Aborigines, who were the original owners of the land, for use of their land by offering them a small collection of trinkets and merchandise in return for 240 hectares of land. Meanwhile, the Aborigines had a whole different perspective of land ownership that did not include one person owning it. The word you might use would be "share".Only native born Australian to find a state capital city.Spoke aboriginal language.Aprenticed blacksmith for 5 yearsThen a jack of all trades farmer Areas named after John BatmanBatman Hill-The place in which he lived- Was flattened out to make space for farmlandBatman Bridge-Whirlpool Reach 38 km from Launceston-Still standingBatman Avenue-Heart of MelbourneBatman Highway-North of Launceston in Northern TasmaniaBatmania- Melbourne's name before changedJohn Batman Statue
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John Batman
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Convict Identities
My name is Robert Cowan and I am a native of Edinburgh. Like many others transported to Australia, I am a Protestant. I am well educated and I am able to read and write. I am married and I also have four children. My trade was to lay bricks and slate. The crime that lead to a punishment of 14 years of transportation to Australia was that I forged a letter of escape. I also tried to escape the filthy barracks and I got caught. They extended my punishment by one year. SighYou can't blame me. Those barracks are worse than a rats nest.John Batman1801-1839Pioneer of Melbourne
When he died, they sold his land[ worth 5500 pounds ] to the Government
Some depict him as a villain but others as a hero
Interesting PointsOne of the few people who attempted to compensate the Aborigines, who were the original owners of the land, for use of their land by offering them a small collection of trinkets and merchandise in return for 240 hectares of land. Meanwhile, the Aborigines had a whole different perspective of land ownership that did not include one person owning it. The word you might use would be "share".Only native born Australian to find a state capital city.Spoke aboriginal language.Aprenticed blacksmith for 5 yearsThen a jack of all trades farmer
Areas named after John BatmanBatman Hill-The place in which he lived- Was flattened out to make space for farmlandBatman Bridge-Whirlpool Reach 38 km from Launceston-Still standingBatman Avenue-Heart of MelbourneBatman Highway-North of Launceston in Northern TasmaniaBatmania- Melbourne's name before changedJohn Batman Statue
BibliographyBooksKENNY Joan Settlers, (1995) Early Settlers Thomas Nelson, South MelbourneBRIDIE Scott (1999)Colonial Government Grolier Australia, NSWInternet WebsitesWhite hat 'John Batman' 1995 [Online] Available http://www.whitehat.com.au/melbourne/People/Batman.asp5th June 2012P.L.Brown 'John Batman' [Online] Available http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/batman-john-17525th June 2012